Spacer and stabilizer for insertion between adjacent convolutions of an automobile coil spring

ABSTRACT

An apparatus for stabilizing the sway of an auto body that is mounted on coil springs by stabilizing the resilient movement of the coil springs and providing, in addition, means to restore the degree of lift of each spring and permit a balanced setting of the auto body, in which spacer blocks are positioned between coils of the spring and further in which each spacer block is extended to be fitted about at least three coils of said spring to retain those coils in alignment.

United States Patent Joseph [54] SPACER AND STABILIZER FOR INSERTION BETWEEN ADJACENT CONVOLUTIONS OF AN AUTOMOBILE COIL SPRING [72] Inventor: Louis Joseph, 225 St. Pauls Ave., Jersey City, NJ. 07306 [22] Filed: Sept. 30, 1970 21 App]. No.: 74,385

52 u.s.c1 ..267/61 [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,591,161 7/1971 Scheubkin, 1i. et al. "267/61 s 14 1 July4, 1972 3,198,508 8/1965 Melton et al ..267/6l S FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 187,047 12/1963 Sweden ..267/6l S Primary Examiner-James B. Marbert Attorney-Howard T. Jeandron [5 7] ABSTRACT An apparatus for stabilizing the sway of an auto body that is mounted on coil springs by stabilizing the resilient movement of the coil springs and providing, in addition, means to restore the degree of lift of each spring and permit a balanced setting of the auto body, in which spacer blocks are positioned between coils of the spring and further in which each spacer block is extended to be fitted about at least three coils of said spring to retain those coils in alignment.

8 Claims, 8 Drawing Figures PATENTI IDJIJH I972 SHEET 10F 2 INVENTOR. LUZ/15 JUSEPH AGE/VT MTENTEUJUL 4 m2 SHEET 2 OF 2 JNVENTOR. LUZ/1.5 JUSEPH SPACER AND STABILIZER FOR INSERTION BETWEEN ADJACENT CONVOLUTIONS OF AN AUTOMOBILE COIL SPRING This invention relates to a stabilizing element for a coil spring of an automobile and more particularly the stabilizing element is designed, for easy insertion between adjacent convolutions of a coil spring, for effective adjustment of the length of the coil spring and to provide alignment of the convolutions of the coil during their flexing action.

Coil springs, as now utilized for suspension of both front and rear running gear of an automobile, are effective for a smooth stabilized ride when new. However, the coil springs gradually change due to fatigue and the result may be an uneven carriage of the auto body due to the unequal flexing of the springs producing an unstabile swaying of the auto body under riding operation.

To correct the poor stability of an auto after the coil springs show fatigue and poor alignment, it is the practice of maintenance mechanics to insert spacer blocks between convolutions of the springs to increase the axial distance between the upper and lower A frame supports to try to establish the original spacing dimension. However since the inserted spacer blocks are inserted at random and only separate the touching or fatigued convolutions, they do not produce or provide any assistance in aligning the spring.

It is an object of this invention to provide a novel spacer for insertion between convolutions of a spring, that shows fatigue and misalignment during flexing, which spacer when inserted between the convolutions provides a correct seating of the spacer to maintain a desired spacing of the convolutions while assisting in retaining an aligned flexing of the coil during riding operations.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a novel spacer for insertion between the convolutions of an automobile helical riding spring that shows fatigue and also shows misalignment during flexing in which the spacer is also a stabilizer and therefore may effectively increase the carrying length of the spring and at the same time stabilize the alignment of the convolutions when flexing the spring during riding or travel.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a novel spacer for insertion between the convolutions of an automobile helical riding spring that shows fatigue and also shows misalignment during flexing in which the spacer is interlocked with a plurality of convolutions to allow flexing of the spring under riding operations but assists in retaining an alignment of the convolutions at all times.

It is a still further object of this invention to provide a novel spacer for insertion between the convolutions of an automobile helical riding spring that shows fatigue and also shows misalignment during flexing in which the spacer is mounted in a gripping relation to a plurality of convolutions of the spring to provide an effective increase in the carrying length of the spring, a stabilized alignment of the convolutions during operation and a retention of the spacer to prevent lose. Other objects of this invention shall be apparent by reference to the detailed description and the drawings in which FIG. 1 is a front elevational view of a stabilizer element mounted on one side of a spring,

FIG. 2 is a cross sectional view taken on line2-2 of FIG. 1,

FIG. 3 is an elevational view of a coil spring with stabilizer elements of FIGS. 1 and 2.

FIG. 4 is a front elevational view of a further embodiment of the stabilizer element,

FIG. 5 is a cross sectional view taken on lineS-S of FIG. 4,

FIG. 6 is an elevational view of a coil spring with stabilizer elements of FIGS. 4 and 5,

FIG. 7 is a front elevational view of a further embodiment of the stabilizer, and

FIG. 8 is a cross sectional view taken on line 8-8 of FIG. 7.

In US. Pat. No. 3,151,855 there is illustrated a coil spring spacer in which a pair of spacer elements are interconnected by a threaded member having a right and left thread so that by turning said threaded member, the spacer elements may be adjusted for spacing about the adjacent convolutions of the coil spring. The present invention is an improvement over this original patent.

Referring to FIGS 1, 2 and 3, there is illustrated a spacer and stabilizing element 10 to be similarly mounted on a coil spring 14 as in the previous patent. However in this instance the spacer block is not adjustable but rather is a predetermined dimension to restore the spacing of the convolutions of the spring. Element 10 is both a spacer for spreading two convolutions over a coil spring and an aligning block for aligning three convolutions of the coil spring comprised of an elongated body 11 having an intermediate spacer portion 12 on one side thereof to be inserted between two adjacent convolutions 1 and 2 and due to the mating curvature of the faces 12A and 12B lock and retain said element in the position as illus trated in FIGS. 1, 2 and 3. Each end 15 and 16 of element 11 is formed semi-circular turning inward on the same side as block 1 1 to grip the adjacent convolutions 2 and 3 of the coil spring on the opposite side from convolution 1. Stabilizing element 10 may be of a material such as rubber, metal or plastic but strong enough to retain its shape when pressed between the resilient convolutions of a coil spring as illustrated. When the element 10 is comprised of a hard rubber, there is a slight degree of flexibility and a good gripping of the convolutions When the element is made of metal, the convolutions may be similarly gripped due to the configuration of the clamp. However in the oscillatory movement of the spring there may be some noise due to the movement of the spring convolution from the face clamp. To prevent this condition, the spacer 12, when made of metal, may be coated with rubber along the face 12A and 12B and may be similarly coated with rubber on the internal face of ends 15 and 16. When the element 10 is made of plastic, the element may be formed of a hard strong plastic to provide and retain the spacing of the convolutions as illustrated but with plastic there may be a degree of flexibility to permit easy mounting of the ends 15 and 16. The abutting faces of the clamp, that is, the faces that abut with the convolutions of the spring may be similarly treated to provide a good gripping relationship and a sound deadening with the oscillatory movement of the convolutions under operation. However the spacer portion 12 when pressed into position as illustrated retains the adjacent convolutions l and 2 in their properly spaced relationship to eliminate the fatigued sagging condition of the adjacent convolutions and at the same time the ends 15 and 16 are hooked about the opposed areas of the convolutions 2 and 3 to retain the three convolutions on a central axis xx and provide an alignment of at least this portion of the spring. It is to be noted that as illustrated in FIG. 3, element 10 may be mounted from the exterior surface of the coil spring as illustrated at Y or may be mounted to the interior surface of the coil spring as illustrated at Z." In both instances the stabilizer spacer performs exactly the same function.

Referring to FIGS. 4, 6 and 6 there: is illustrated a further embodiment of the stabilizer in which element 10A is shaped slightly different from element 10. The upper end 15A of element 10A is sirnilarto end 15 of the previous embodiment gripping the one surface of convolution 3. The body 11A is formed with a single cylindrical opening or socket 17 to fit the cross sectional area of a coil spring which varies, that is, element 10A must be made in difierent sizes to fit a 7/8 inch round, l inch round or 1% inch round diameter spring. The cylindrical opening 17 is provided with an open U shaped end 18 to allow the coil 1 to be pressed into the opening 17. The lower portion 19 of element 10A is formed as a spacer 12A and the lower surface of element 10A is formed in a generally semi-circular U" shape to fit over the surface of coil 2. Thus in mounting element 10A, the lower end 19 is positioned against convolution 2 and the clamp is rotated about the axis of this convolution until the slot or open U shaped end 18 mates with convolution 1 and by rotating element 10A further and pressing the element into the position as illustrated, convolution 1 will be seated within the cylindrical opening 17 and end A will snap over convolution 3 to place the stabilizer in the position as illustrated. It is to be noted that element 10A may be mounted from the exterior or interior of the coil spring as shown in FIG. 6.

Referring to FIGS. 7 and 8 there is illustrated a still further embodiment of the spacer stabilizer element in which the element 10B is slightly longer than the previous embodiments and is to be used primarily for springs that are badly out of line and in need of both spacing and correctional aligning. In this instance element 108 is shown long enough to grip a plurality of convolutions of a spring. Specifically, in FIGS. 7 and 8, element 10B is positioned to grip 4 convolutions. However additional elements may be used in parallel or adjacent relationship to grip more convolutions without interferring with the operation of spring but providing a stiffening to retain the spring on a single axis such as that illustrated in FIG. 8 axis xx. Element 10B may be comprised of an elongated body 118 with an intermediate spacer 12B on one side thereof and hooked or semi-circular ends 158 and 16B. In this embodiment spacer 123 may be similar to the spacer 12 of the previous embodiment and the element 10B may be formed from any of the materials as suggested in the previous embodiment. It is to be noted that for extremely bad alignment, two stabilizer elements 108 may be utilized and preferably inserting one from the outside of the spring and the other from the inside of the spring in an adjacent relationship as illustrated.

Although we have described the stabilizing element to stabilize alignment and a booster or spacer element to readjust spacing between the convolutions of a coil spring for an automobile, the element is necessarily designed to cooperate with a minimum of three convolutions of the spring but may extend to more convolutions as described and is not limited to its length but may be extended to a greater number of convolutions as desired and although the general material for the construction of the element is broadly referred to, it is apparent that the particular material whether of rubber, metal or plastic, it must have the necessary strength to retain its form under operating conditions and should have a wedge formation in front for insertion of the element without requiring additional tools for separating the convolutions in mounting.

The invention described in detail in the foregoing specification is subject to changes and modifications without departing from the principle and spirit thereof. The terminology used is for purposes of description and not of limitation; the scope of the invention being defined in the claims.

What is claimed is:

1. In combination, a coil spring for an automobile and a stabilizing and spacing block to be fitted between coils of said spring and to grip a plurality of coils in which said spacing block is provided with one convolution coil receiving socket and an extended body having a curved portion to be hooked about a convolution of said coil that is not being spaced to maintain all coils in alignment and in which said spacing portion of said block abuts with a third coil to restore the desired lift to said spring.

2. In a device according to claim 1 in which the abutting portion of said spacing portion of said block that abuts with said third convolution is formed with a half-round groove to follow the radius of the coil spring.

3. In a device according to claim 1 in which the stabilizing and spacing blocks are mounted both externally and internally to the convolutions of the spring.

4. In a device according to claim 1 in which the abutting portion of said spacing portion of said block that abuts with said third convolution is centrally positioned in said stabilizing and spacing block.

5. In combination, a coil spring for an automobile and a pair of stabilizing and spacing blocks to be fitted one inside said coils and one outside said coils of said spring and each block to grip three or more of the coils and in which each spacing block is provided with one spacing portion and extended body to other convolutions.

. n a device according to claim 5 in which the extended body grips a convolution that is not being spaced to retain said coil spring in alignment.

7. In a device according to claim 5 in which the extended body grips convolutions that are not being spaced to retain said coil spring in alignment.

8. In a device according to claim 5 in which the extended body grips a convolution either side of said spacing portion that is not being spaced to retain said coil spring in alignment.

l i 0 k 

1. In combination, a coil spring for an automobile and a stabilizing and spacing block to be fitted between coils of said spring and to grip a plurality of coils in which said spacing block is provided with one convolution coil receiving socket and an extended body having a curved portion to be hooked about a convolution of said coil that is not being spaced to maintain all coils in alignment and in which said spacing portion of said block abuts with a third coil to restore the desired lift to said spring.
 2. In a device according to claim 1 in which the abutting portion of said spacing portion of said block that abuts with said third convolution is formed with a half-round groove to follow the radius of the coil spring.
 3. In a device according to claim 1 in which the stabilizing and spacing blocks are mounted both externally and internally to the convolutions of the spring.
 4. In a device according to claim 1 in which the abutting portion of said spacing portion of said block that abuts with said third convolution is centrally positioned in said stabilizing and spacing block.
 5. In combination, a coil spring for an automobile and a pair of stabilizing and spacing blocks to be fitted one inside said coils and one outside said coils of said spring and each block to grip three or more of the coils and in which each spacing block is provided with one spacing portion and extended body to grip other convolutions.
 6. In a device according to claim 5 in which the extended body grips a convolution that is not being spaced to retain said coil spring in alignment.
 7. In a device according to claim 5 in which the extended body grips convolutions that are not being spaced to retain said coil spring in alignment.
 8. In a device according to claim 5 in which the extended body grips a convolution either side of said spacing portion that is not being spaced to retain said coil spring in alignment. 